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How much do you get paid to clean stalls?

Just wondering how much is normal to clean stalls. I know most BO's pay by the hour but I have also heard of BO's paying by the stall.

Work would include mucking stalls, cleaning filling water bucks and putting hay in the stalls. I would not be feeding or turning horses in or out. (total number or stalls would be 5: 12x12 and 5: 12x24 double stalls) located in NC if that matters.

The Love for a Horse is just as Complicated as the Love for another Human being, If you have never Loved a Horse you will Never Understand!!!

One barn: $2.50 per stall, but that includes picking, rebedding, water, hay, and sweeping the aisle. Definitely more than the going rate (by about $.50 a stall) but has kept the same worker for many years as a result. Very low turnover. Approx. 25 stalls.

One barn: $14 per hour, 12 stalls and 4 drylots, for a total of 17 horses worth. Takes two workers approx. 2 hours to do morning feed, turnout, picking, rebedding, dumping and scrubbing waters, and blowing the driveway. Again, higher than the going rate, by $2-4 per hour, but has kept the same workers for over 10 years. They also work full time keeping the farm and homes maintained.

I don't know if I was paid well, or highly ripped off, I'm just telling you what I did and what I made. Also, I just did this work to make some extra cash with the bonus of being in a horsey environment, I dunno if you need to consider that or not. I didn't live off the money or anything.

I worked in a small stable roughly ten years ago, one day a week. The BO had about twenty horses. I had to give the horses their morning feed (it was already ready to go in little buckets), fill water buckets, turn out (which meant just opening the back door and letting the horses run out one at a time), pick about 14 stalls, and actually mucked six. I made thirty dollars per day and it took me about three hours to do all the work.

YMMV though on the length of time, in my case I was making $30 regardless of whether it took me 3 hours or 3 minutes to do the work, so I'd take a little time to pet and visit with favorites. My BO didn't care because I came in early, did a good job, loved the horses, and had the work done way before any of the clients would come in.

The going rate will depend a lot on where you live. Someone who lives in an area where board is $600+ per month is hopefully going to earn more than someone who lives in an area where board is $300 or so per month.

Where I board, full care stall board is $295/month. There are 30 stalls in the barn, and it takes approximately 2-3 hours to clean and bed the stalls. Our barn owner pays $30 for this.

Morning chores involves feeding oats year round, alfalfa/hay in the winter, turning them out to the pasture and/or pens, filling water buckets in the summer/emptying chipping ice in the winter, feeding back - oats only in the summer, hay in the winter, and sweeping. It takes about 1.5-2 hours in the summer, 2.5-4 hours in the winter, and we are paid $25 for this.

At my barn us girls who work off part of our board get paid $1.50 per stall (clean, re-bed if necessary, top off water), $2.00 if we dump and scrub water buckets. The stalls are smallish and matted, and definitely some of the easiest I've had to clean, so I don't complain!

Proud member of the "I'm In My 20's and Hope to Be a Good Rider Someday" clique

Agreed, the rate will vary a lot by location. And it should also take into account the number of stalls (to make it worth the trip). For lack of more info, I would time it, average the time, consider the going rate per hour (in the region) then divide by the number of stalls.

I, too, think $1.50 is criminal. While it is manual labor, it should warrant a living wage. I would personally rather pay a living wage and keep good, honest staff. Turnover costs money and can hurt the business in so many ways.

Currently the BO pays $50 a day (just went up from $30) (this includes: feed: am & pm, turn in & out, pick & rebed stalls, refill water buckets. no aisles to sweep since they are dirt but you must rake it so it looks decent. Total of 10 horse. 5 horses have 12x12 stalls and the other 5 have double stalls. Other boarders say it takes about 3-4 hrs to do everything.

My trainer says going rate for stalls in our area is $5. Since I don't feel comfortable handling some of the horse I won't be turning in or out. I was thinking $30 for the day just to pick stalls and fill water buckets rake aisle. That's $3 a stall. Just wanted to get some other opinions...Thanks guys!!!

The Love for a Horse is just as Complicated as the Love for another Human being, If you have never Loved a Horse you will Never Understand!!!

My BO "pays" (takes off my board) $75 per day. We have 10 stalls, currently 9 horses. I feed, turnout, clean stalls, add bedding, and blow out barn in AM. In PM, I feed and water, bring in horses, shut up the barn, and then set up all the sheds (we have 4 fields, and each field has it's own shed with hay and water). The AMs take me roughly 90 minutes, the PMs take me about 45 minutes. However, my BOs are fantastic, wonderful people who believe that they need to actually pay me what I'm worth in order the keep me around. And, they get their money worth - I am as type A in a barn as one can get. Things are done right, period. But, having worked at other barns, I know that I'm getting a really, really, REALLY good deal.

“Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion.” ~Emerson